Ambition

Question 1

“Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” 1.4

Answer 1

• Perverts Duncan’s earlier comparison of nobility to stars (“but signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine on all deservers”). He modifies the laudatory language which Duncan uses, and with direct address, commands the stars to darkness. The audience sees his ambitions grow
• “black” connotes to evil and death and reflects Macbeths moral unscrupulousness
• Demonstrates the speed at which Macbeth is corrupted by the promise of power as he is already trying to cover his blood lust
• He doesn’t want heaven to see what he is about to do

Question 2

“ingredience of our poison’d chalice to our own lips” 1.7

Answer 2

• “ingredience” metaphor for their murderous schemes which forms the “poison” which is a metaphor for the evil that is caused as a result of his evil actions
• “chalice” could also be a metaphor for power and the crown which is corrupt and foreshadows the bloodthirsty reign that will lead to his death as shown through the metaphor “our own lips”
• This could serve as a warning to the Jacobean audience as to what would happen to them if they ever rebel against the king and stresses the importance of the divine right to kings
• Use of ecclesiastical imagery through “chalice” ( a vessel used for drinking blessed wine). Oxymoronic phrase “poison’d chalice” renders the audience aghast as they realize the magnitude of desecrating such a sacred object. This image effectively demonstrates the potentially cataclysmic contagion effect that such wanton, insatiable ambition can bring, foreshadowing the other brutal murders Macbeth organises in the scenes to follow.

Question 3

Is this a dagger i see before me 2.1

Answer 3

• This hallucination is a manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt as well as his power-lust and is the product of the supernatural
• could also be seen as something creates by the witches to cajole him into the murder of Duncan
• Jacobean audience would see this as the work of the devil which enhances the ominous and eerie atmosphere
• Marks the start of his mental deterioration as well as his reliance on the supernatural - he starts seeing everything as a supernatural confirmation that he should kill the king
• “handle toward my hand” reveals how his ambition is compelling him to fulfill his dark intentions but also implies how Macbeth has fully decided on murdering the king . this also could be interpreted as him trying to justify killing the king and seeing this as his fate which links to how the Jacobean audience believed in fate and so Macbeth sees murdering the King as something that is beyond his control.

Question 4

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, 3.1

Answer 4

• The metaphor “fruitless crown” is a direct reference to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth not having heir to the throne
• The semantic field of their childless state is heighten by the reference to “fruitless” and “barren spectre” which highlights Macbeth’s bitterness towards the possibility to passing his crown to Banquo’s sons.
• The possessive pronoun “my” demonstrates how Macbeth is becoming more authoritative and also highlights how his ambition is now leading him to plot murders by himself compared to the previous acts where Lady Macbeth planted the deed in his head. This foreshadows his tyrant-like behavior that grows as the play progresses. The use of singular first person conforms to the patriarchal idea that everything belongs to men - including children.

Question 5

“fill me from the crown to the toe top-full /Of direst cruelty!” 1.5

Answer 5

• Superlative “direst” emphasizes the extent of how far into the darkness she is willing to go and the depth of her evilness
• “crown to the toe” shows that she wants to be filled with evil- shows passion and strong desire
• Her insatiable lusting for power is evident through the use of “toe top” – the use of the plosive “t” conveys an overwhelming sense of ambition which is further reinforced through the use of iambic pentameter, used to demonstrate how Lady Macbeth can feel the “cruelty” manifesting inside of her which heightens the tension especially when the Messenger comes on stage to tell her that she will be hosting the King. It is at this moment, the audience realizes her intention to commit regicide

Question 6

“Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell” 1.5

Answer 6

• Verb “pall” epitomizes Lady Macbeth embracement of evil and showcases the extent how far she is willing to go to get to power which is reinforced through the superlative “dunnest”. This implies that she wants to be among the most evil therefore demonstrating how fearless she is whilst also encapsulating her strong sense of ambition which influences her to transgress against the traditional gender norms – shocking the Jacobean audience .
• Contrasts to Act 5 when she had a “light by her continually”

Question 7

“Out damn’d spot” 5.1

Answer 7

• The imperative phrase exemplifies her trauma as well as desperation to clean herself of this blood and also her certainty that there is blood on her hands which accentuates the power of her hallucination. This could also evince her frustration and anger emphasizing the emotional torment she is going through because of her evil action
• The adjective “damn’d” has connotations of hell and evil which could imply that she is trying to exorcise her demons . the fact that she is unable to do this caution the audience not to embrace evil as once you do God will no longer protect you.
• Seeing that Lady Macbeth commanded evil spirits to make her masculine in Act 1 scene 5 and has now become hysterical and maniacal serves as a warning to the Jacobean women in the audience to conform to the social expectations of what women should be (at the time); they should not be the driving force behind anything accept rearing children and should be submissive

Question 8

“I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked” 5.3

Answer 8

• Through the verb “hacked” a grotesque and horrific image is formed in the audience mind which highlights how vigorous Macbeth’s ambition is – his power hunger is so strong that he is willing to go through intense agony which demonstrates to the audience how ambition with evil intensions distorts your mind so much that you self-inflict torment onto yourself
• This would deter the Jacobean audience from turning against the natural order.

Question 9

“O scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” 3.2

Answer 9

• This exclamatory sentence heightens the anguish which Macbeth feels and gives a image of infectivity through the metaphor “scorpions is my mind” which deepens the extent of guilt he feels. This metaphor also evokes a dark and painful imagery as well as a vivid image of torment which causes the audience to feel sorry for him and also serves as a warning not to commit regicide . By using the animal “scorpions” this quote depicts how his mind is consumed with evil and poisonous thoughts which has been caused by the witches’ prophecies and implies how he can never be pure and holy ever again
• The use of the sarcastic “dear wife” illustrates the deterioration of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth relationship. A harsh tone is used here which contrasts sharply to the sweet and romantic tone of “my dearest partner of greatness” showing how embracing evil to gain power results in utter tragedy.

Question 10

Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck 3.2

Answer 10

• The shift from Lady Macbeth being Macbeth’s “dearest partner of greatness” to his “dearest chuck” show how the couple’s relationship has transformed into one typical of the patriarchal society in which the play was set. Though the superlative “dearest” is still used, the almost trivialising pet name “chuck” shows that Macbeth no longer views his wife as his equal, but as an inferior. Comparing Lady Macbeth to a chicken places her incredibly low down on the Great Chain of Being, illustrating how little she means to Macbeth now that he is king.
• Their relationship also conforms to this social structure when he says “Be innocent of the knowledge” which reflects the Jacobean ideology that women should be shielded from certain subjects which further belittles Lady Macbeth.

Question 11

“ I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in saucy doubts and fears” 3.4

Answer 11

• Through the use of the semantic field of imprisonment, Shakespeare conveys how entrapped Macbeth has become which is further emphasised through the alliteration of the hard “c”, which also encapsulates the strong hold his fears have on him. This harsh alliteration coupled with the consonance of plosive sounds, complement the horrific state that Macbeth is in.